October 30th, 2013: The Gate

"The Gate is a MUST HAVE for all horror fans." - Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton, Dread Central

Glen's parents are going out of town for the weekend and left his older sister, Alexandra, or "Al", in charge.  While digging in a hole in the backyard, he and his best friend Terry find a geode.  Terry brings a metal record over to listen to and the lyrics are based on something referred to as "The Dark Book".  After consulting the words to the music, Terry is convinced that the hole in Glen's backyard is the gateway to Hell.  He's right.

The Gate is a classic 1980's kid's horror film but it's much more intense one may be lead to believe.  There were many times I forgot that I was watching a PG-13 movie.  The best way to describe its content is The Monster Squad meets a tame Evil Dead.  You'll laugh, you'll jump and maybe even scream, but most of all, you're '80s nostalgia fix will be fulfilled in a horrific way.

- CS

October 29th, 2013: All the Boys Love Mandy Lane

"The movie is well-made, with more effort placed on building tension than on creating bloody playoffs." - Jeffrey M. Anderson, Common Sense Media

Mandy Lane is a shy but popular outsider who draws the attention of every male at her high school.  The only boy she can trust is her best friend Emmet.  After Emmet causes a severe accident at a jock party, Mandy stops communicating with him.  He tries to win her friendship back but fails miserably.      

Mandy is invited to a weekend party out at a classmate's father's cattle ranch.  After receiving permission from her aunt, she and the group drive out to the secluded property.  While everyone is enjoying their freedom of being away from their parents, they don't seem to notice that people are missing.  Soon the group finds out that there is in uninvited visitor taking out everyone in their path. 

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2006.  Senator Entertainment purchased the film from The Weinstein Company but they declared bankruptcy shorty after.  After 7 years, The Weinstein Company finally re-gained the rights to the movie and released it in select theaters this October.  With a $750,000 budget, the film has already broke even with their international revenue. 

Although I enjoyed this movie, it does have a few dull moments.  After its opener the film dips into a great amount of suspense.  The only problem is, the dialogue isn't entertaining and is more or less a bore.  Once things pick back up it resembles the same type of Grindhouse filmmaking Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) created in the '70s.  As All the Boys Love Mandy Lane concludes, you're left with a bunch of twists and large body count. 

-CS

October 28th, 2013: American Mary

"It's a truly interesting slasher fest; in this one, the heroine gets to be both beauty and beast." - Ferran Smith Nehme, New York Post

Mary Mason is a medical student struggling to pay her student loans.  She comes across an ad online for a strip club.  When she goes to her interview, it is interrupted by an injured man.  Since Mary listed her medical experience on her resume, the club owner Billy offers her $5,000 to save the man.  She accepts the offer and returns home in distress. 

The word gets out about Mary's medical procedure and she is approached by many people wanting surgical body modifications.  Each client wants to express themselves in a different way and they believe she is the doctor to go to. In need of the money, Mary decides to go into the business full time.  

Mary becomes financially stable and is invited to a surgeon party.  At the gathering, she runs into one of her doctors from school.  The doctor slips something into her drink and takes advantage of her.  The next day Mary seeks  her revenge utilizing her medical skills, but it doesn't stop there.  The wrath of Mary has only begun.  

American Mary starts out somewhat predictable but it will keep you entertained with twists and turns.  I definitely recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the television show Nip/Tuck.  There's obviously more horror elements involved here.  Overall, I had a good time. 

-CS

October 27th, 2013: V/H/S/2

"V/H/S/2 is raw and rough-edged and rude.  It is also, for the hardcore horror fan, at total blast." - Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald

V/H/S/2 is a horror anthology composed of short "found footage" segments that wrap around another story.  In this sequel, Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett (You're Next, A Horrible Way to Die) return with their own individual shorts.  Other filmmakers include Eduardo Sanchez and Greg Hale (The Blair Witch Project),  Jason Eisener (Hobo with a Shotgun), and Timo Tjahjanto with Gareth Huw Evans. 

Each segment has its own story and style of horror, representing a little something for everyone to enjoy.  There's zombies, aliens, satanic cults and more.  By providing these different elements of horror, it keeps the film consistently fresh and entertaining.  Definitely one of the best in 2013.

-CS

  

October 26th, 2013: The Grudge

"The Grudge is a decent horror diversion: barely a classic, but still pretty atmospheric and suspenseful in its own right." - Bill Gibron, DVDTalk.com

The Grudge is a US remake of the Japanese horror film Ju-on: The Grudge.  Separated by only 2 years, both movies are directed by Takashi Shimizu.  Sam Raimi (Evil Dead franchise, Spider-Man trilogy) also appears in the producing credits.  Even though it did well in the box office, The Grudge received mostly negative reviews. 

Tonight was honestly my first time watching this movie since I saw it in the theater, October of 2004.  This time around I feel like I gained a little more appreciation for the film.  I originally thought it was was boring and lacked a lot of structure. There are some pretty frightening moments but I find myself trying way too hard to give a shit about the characters.

To be fair, Buffy the Vampire Slayer veteran Sarah Michelle Gellar puts on a great performance.  In fact, she is one of the only reasons I decided to give this one a shot again.  It's hard to believe it was released almost 10 years ago. In that time I have decided that it is still a mediocre lightweight PG-13 supernatural horror flick, but when the scares are on, they're on.

-CS 

October 25th, 2013: Calvaire

"This is a strange, compelling horror film that is decidedly for the fans of the genre and not, definitely not, for the mainstream moviegoer." - Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews

Calvaire, which translates to The Ordeal, is a Belgian psychological horror film directed by Fabrice Du Welz.  It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May of 2004 and had its US release in August of 2006.  It received a lot of mixed reviews but like the critic above said, the film isn't for everyone.

Marc Stevens is a rising pop artist who makes money on the side singing at retirement homes.  On his way to perform a Christmas special, he wreck his transportation.  He is found by a man named Boris who rescues him and leads him to an inn.  Once Marc arrives, it's all downhill from there.

This movie is filled with a lot of jaw dropping moments.  I remember the first time I saw it, I had to rewind a certain scene over and over to make sure what was going on was in fact actually happening.  There's a nice musical number featured in the film which can be briefly seen in the trailer.  Calvaire screams October and I love it. 

-CS

October 24th, 2013: Army of Darkness

"Works in being a spooky and entertaining darkly comedic horror movie..." - Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed

Army of Darkness is my least favorite installment of the Evil Dead trilogy.  After multiple viewings I have finally decided that I just don't really care for this movie.  This may come as a shock to most people seeing as it is highly respected in the horror genre.  I'm not sure what exactly it is that I don't like but the majority of the film just bores me.

The first two of the three films were almost flawless as they balanced the gore, humor, and scares perfectly.  Army of Darkness isn't supposed to be taken seriously but I wonder what it would have been like if director Sam Raimi went that direction instead.  There's nothing wrong with the comedy side of it but there are scenes where I feel like the slapstick stuff just gets out of hand.

Bruce Campbell recently confirmed that Army of Darkness 2 is in the works.  I'll go see it of course; it will be fun to see what the effects look like.  Who knows, maybe in a few years I'll have a different opinion on this film but until then, I'll stick with The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II.

-CS